FREE WHITEWATER

Daily Bread, Elections, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 10.27.24: Early Voting in Wisconsin Up 40%

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 59. Sunrise is 7:23, and sunset is 5:53, for 10 hours, 30 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent, with 20.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1682,  Philadelphia is founded in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Mary Spicuzza reports Early voting in Wisconsin sees 40% increase, election officials say:

Early voting in Wisconsin has increased by nearly 40% over 2020 as of Friday, Wisconsin elections officials said.

Early in-person absentee voting began Tuesday in the state, and as of Friday morning 292,702 people had voted, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said. That’s compared to 209,665 as of the morning of Friday, Oct. 23, 2020.

Nearly 1 million absentee ballots have been requested by Wisconsin voters and more than 715,000 ballots have already been returned to clerks, either by mail or by those voting in-person absentee, elections officials said.

Voters cast a total of some 640,100 absentee ballots in 2008, then 665,340 absentee ballots in 2012; 824,736 absentee ballots in 2016; and about 1.9 million absentee ballots in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Election officials said Friday that 921,832 total absentee ballots had requested so far for the 2024 election.

The type of early voting (prior to 11.5) may shift between absentee balloting and early in-person voting, especially as against a pandemic year. The trend toward voting before Election Day, however, so that Election Day becomes Election Days, is undeniable.

See also from FREE WHITEWATER Nearly 100,00 Ballots Cast on First Day of In-Person Early Voting.

Deft, very deft:

Agriculture, Daily Bread, Eric Hovde, Farming, Ignorance, Sen. Baldwin, Sloth, US Senate Race 2024, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 10.26.24: Hovde Rationalizes His Ignorance and Sloth

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 56. Sunrise is 7:22, and sunset is 5:54, for 10 hours, 32 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent, with 28.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1818, Lewis Cass, governor of the Michigan Territory, declares the first counties in Wisconsin:

The counties included Michilimackinac (all areas drained by Lake Superior tributaries), Brown, and Crawford counties, which were separated through Portage. Michilimackinac County is now part of the state of Michigan. Governor Cass later became the Secretary of War under President Andrew Jackson, as well as the Minister to France and a Michigan Senator. Cass, a Democrat, also ran for president in 1848, but lost to Whig Zachary Taylor due to factions within the Democratic Party and the formation of the Free Soil Party.

 On this day in 1881, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday participate in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.

Eric Hovde, a California livin’ man with a Utah bank, admitted at his debate with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin that he’s not read up on the farm bill on which Wisconsin agriculture depends. See California Carpetbagger with an Utah Bank Doesn’t Bother to Read Farm Bill on Which Wisconsin Agriculture Relies.

Predictably, Hovde has a rationalization for his ignorance and sloth:

“Why in God’s green Earth would I know all the details in a farm bill when I’m not serving in this Senate right now?” he told reporters after he voted Tuesday.

A job applicant walks into an interview with a prospective employer, and the interviewer asks the applicant what he thinks the most important goal for the bank should be. The applicant replies, “I’m not employed by this bank yet, so I cannot opine on what might be a good next move. In fact, why in God’s green Earth would I know all the details in about this bank when I’m not yet employed?”

A question like this is conventional and predictable: it’s a test of what research about, and interest in, the bank the applicant has. It’s a test of enthusiasm and diligence. Of course the applicant can say he does not yet have all the details, but he or she should have some sense of what might matter from public sources.

(A candidate should have the ability to express the limitations on his knowledge in a language intelligible to other humans. English, for example, is a language with a large vocabulary for expressive possibilities beyond “I can’t opine specifically.”)

Previously at FREE WHITEWATER:  California Carpetbagger with a Utah Bank Doesn’t Bother to Read Farm Bill on Which Wisconsin Agriculture Relies, Hovde & Baldwin, Hovde Spreads Lies About Hurricane Response (Of Course He Does), These Aren’t Subtle Men, Eric Hovde’s Banking Deal with a Cartel-Linked Mexican Bank, Hovde’s Evident, Ignorant Racism, Eric Hovde Treats Wisconsin as a Side Hustle,  It’s Not Going So Well for Hovde, Eric Hovde Should Fire His Political Consultants and Hire a Therapist, Tim Michels 2.0 Eric Hovde Announces U.S. Senate Run, and Another Vanity Candidate.  

Kevin the Canadian Chihuahua Know the Best Season When It Comes Along:

America, Conspiracy Theories, Daily Bread, Elections

Daily Bread for 10.25.24: Conspiracy Theories & Lies Grip Nation

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 61. Sunrise is 7:21, and sunset is 5:56, for 10 hours, 35 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent, with 38.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Adlai Stevenson shows the United Nations Security Council reconnaissance photographs of Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba.

Matt Vasilogambros reports ‘Firehose’ of election conspiracy theories floods final days of the campaign:

In the final days of the presidential election, lies about noncitizens voting, the vulnerability of mail-in ballots and the security of voting machines are spreading widely over social media.

Fanned by former President Donald Trump and notable allies such as tech tycoon Elon Musk, election disinformation is warping voters’ faith in the integrity of the democratic process, polls show, and setting the stage once again for potential public unrest if the Republican nominee fails to win the presidency. At the same time, federal officials are investigating ongoing Russian interference through social media and shadow disinformation campaigns.

The “firehose” of disinformation is working as intended, said Pamela Smith, president and CEO of Verified Voting, a nonpartisan group that advocates for responsible use of technology in elections.

“This issue is designed to sow general distrust,” she said. “Your best trusted source is not your friend’s cousin’s uncle that you saw on Twitter. It’s your local election official. Don’t repeat it. Check it instead.”

Although human affairs are disordered, some happy traditions carry on. Animals enjoy eating pumpkins before Halloween:

City, Film

Film: Tuesday, October 29th, 1:00 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Godzilla Minus One

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Tuesday, October 29th at 1:00 PM, there will be a showing of Godzilla Minus One @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building:

Epic/Monster/Horror

Rated PG-13

2 hours, 4 minutes (2023)

In Japan, Godzilla is a revered pop culture icon and national hero. On November 3, 2024, after 40 films and over 70 years, Japan will be celebrating Godzilla Day. Don’t laugh. This film was the 2024 Oscar Winner for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, and is one of the highest/best rated films ever, by critics/audience. (Certified Fresh Tomatoes). Personally, as a longtime Godzilla fan, I can tell you this is The. Best. Godzilla. Film. EVER.

Language: Japanese; English subtitles.

One can find more information about Godzilla Minus One  at the Internet Movie Database.



Daily Bread, Elections, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 10.24.24: Nearly 100,00 Ballots Cast on First Day of In-Person Early Voting

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 64. Sunrise is 7:19, and sunset is 5:57, for 10 hours, 38 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent, with 48.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

By U.S. Army – White Sands Missile Range/Applied Physics Laboratory [1]https://chaoglobal.wordpress.com/2015/03/01/nasa-15/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12004314

On this day in 1946, a camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.

Henry Redman reports Nearly 100k voters cast ballots on first day of early voting:

The first day of in-person early voting in Wisconsin saw 97,436 people cast ballots for the Nov. 5 election. So many people voted on Tuesday that it caused a slowdown of the state election software system, leading to long lines in some places. 

The number of ballots cast on the opening day of early voting far surpassed other recent elections. In the 2022 midterm election, which had gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races on the ballot, 33,644 people cast ballots on the first day of early voting. In the 2020 presidential election 79,774 people showed up on the first day of early voting. 

Despite Tuesday’s high turnout, the popularity of absentee voting in general still lags behind the 2020 presidential election when the COVID-19 pandemic pushed many voters to vote remotely. 

After more than four years of Republicans and Donald Trump attacking the voting system and making accusations that any voting methods other than  going to the polls on Election Day are vulnerable to fraud, the GOP nonetheless encouraged Republicans this year to vote early. 

Early voting in Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, Illinois and Georgia show lines outside polls:

Daily Bread, Elections, Politics, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 10.23.24: Wisconsin Senate Outlook

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 59. Sunrise is 7:18, and sunset is 5:59, for 10 hours, 40 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous, with 57.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 4 PM.

On this day in 1868, having taken the shogunate’s seat of power at Edo and declared it his new capital as Tokyo, Mutsuhito proclaims the start of the new Meiji era.

Anya Van Wagtendonk, Joe Schulz, and Evan Casey report Fight for control of state government runs through 3 Wisconsin Senate districts (‘Races for the 14th, 30th and 8th state Senate districts have been hotly contested’). They highlight three Senate districts: 14th District (Democrat Democrat Sarah Keyeski and Republican incumbent Joan Ballweg), 30th District (Democrat Jamie Wall and Republican Jim Rafter), and the 8th District (Democrat Jodi Habush Sinykin and Republican incumbent Duey Stroebel). These races will not alone be enough to determine Wisconsin Senate control this year, but outcomes will suggest longer-term trends.

The story offers snapshots of each district:

[The 14th] district now encompasses all of Richland and Sauk counties and portions of several others, including Dane County, a Democratic stronghold. It includes the communities of Richland Center, Reedsburg, Baraboo, Spring Green, Sauk City, Lodi, Portage, Columbus and the Wisconsin Dells. Part of the district also dips into the city of Madison.

According to data compiled by Marquette University, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would have won the district by about 10 points in 2022, and President Joe Biden would have carried it by about 4 points in 2020.

….

Before redistricting, the 30th Senate District stretched north to Marinette, and favored Republicans. It’s been held by Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, since 2021, but this year, he’s running in the adjacent 2nd Senate District, a seat with a strong Republican lean.

In recent elections, the 30th District has leaned Democratic. In 2022, Evers would have carried it by about 7 points. Four years ago Biden would have won it by about 3.

….

Wisconsin’s 8th Senate District includes parts of Milwaukee County and also Waukesha, Washington, and Ozaukee Counties, also known as the WOW Counties. The area has historically been a Republican stronghold, but it’s been trending Democratic in recent years.

The test this fall is whether redrawn districts like these will lead to partisan changes.

How To Win A Nobel Prize: A three minute guide:

Harris-Walz, Kamala Harris, Politics, Presidential Race 2024

Daily Bread for 10.22.24: A Reminder on Jill Stein

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 57. Sunrise is 7:17, and sunset is 6:00, for 10 hours, 43 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous, with 68 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 5 PM.

On this day in 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy, after internal counsel from Dwight D. Eisenhower, announces that American reconnaissance planes have discovered Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, and that he has ordered a naval quarantine of the Communist nation.

It’s understandable that voters would be curious about different candidates. Some ordinary voters might want, reasonably, to take a look at Jill Stein, for example. Prospective voters, however, are not Stein; well-meaning and curious people should not be confused or conflated with this aged perennial candidate. She may seem as through she’s a viable choice, but looking closely she’s a shill for Putin and an effective vote for Trump.

Lawrence O’Donnell describes Stein’s Trojan Horse candidacy aptly:

And look, and look… there’s a distinction to draw. Voters are sometimes mistaken and misguided, and should be critiqued cautiously. Candidates and their operatives, especially someone like Stein, do not deserve gentle care and feeding.

(In a comment and my reply about Stein here at FREE WHITEWATER from two months ago, this libertarian blogger yielded no ground to a Stein operative, and ended further comment from him at a moment of my choosing. Stein and her campaign team, in Wisconsin and elsewhere, are experienced politicos who deserve no particular caution or deference.)

This libertarian blogger is not a Democrat, but instead is a Never Trump man who knows that Trumpism can only be overcome by joining the largest possible coalition. That coalition is composed mostly, but not exclusively, of Democrats. That coalition has Kamala Harris as its standard bearer. Harris does not have my partial or sometime support: she has my full and complete support in defense of our constitutional order. I am not hesitant about supporting her; I am wholly supportive of her and her defense of our centuries-long liberal democratic tradition against autocracy.

It’s important both to take a principled position and hold that position against opposition. Cannot imagine another other way, truly.

Bear Seizes Control of Gatlinburg, TN (Demands daily supply of honey):

Daily Bread, Immigration, Presidential Race 2024, Trump

Daily Bread for 10.21.24: Fact Checking Trump on Immigration

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 79. Sunrise is 7:16, and sunset is 6:02, for 10 hours, 46 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous, with 77.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Library Board meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1897, the Yerkes Observatory is dedicated:

Founded by astronomer George Hale and located in Williams Bay, the Yerkes Observatory houses the world’s largest refracting optical telescope, with a lens of diameter 102 cm/40 inches. It was built through the largess of the tycoon Charles Tyson Yerkes, who rebuilt important parts of the Chicago transportation system after the fire. Situated in a 77-acre park on the shore of Lake Geneva, this observatory was the center for world astronomy in the early 20th century and invited a number of astronomers from around the world, including Japan, for scientific exchange.

Trump has said much about immigration. The Marshall Project has published Fact-checking Over 12,000 of Donald Trump’s Statements About Immigration. The fact check is detailed, and I’d encourage readers to review the full article. Below are summaries of the main points of the fact check:

TRUMP: “Under Border Czar Harris, our communities are being ravaged by migrant crime.”

FACT CHECK: According to a consistent, overwhelming amount of criminology research, immigrants to the United States, both legal and undocumented, have committed less crime than native-born Americans going all the way back to the 1870s.

TRUMP: “[South American countries are] emptying out their prisons and their mental institutions into the United States of America.”

FACT CHECK: Experts and journalists find no evidence that South American countries are intentionally freeing mentally ill and incarcerated people to infiltrate the U.S.

TRUMP: “Cases like Kate Steinle, murdered in San Francisco by a five-time deported illegal immigrant, or cases like Sarah Root… or my friend Jamiel Shaw who lost his incredible son…”

FACT CHECK: Trump relies on emotionally powerful anecdotes to portray an alleged crime wave by undocumented immigrants, but research shows that immigrants commit less crime than native-born Americans.

TRUMP: “They want [unauthorized immigrants] voting, because they believe they’ll be voting for Democrats every single time.”

FACT CHECK: There is no evidence that Democratic immigration policies have led to any meaningful increase in noncitizen voting, or in any form of demographic advantage for the party.

TRUMP: [Democrats] want sanctuary cities, which means crime and drugs and death.”

FACT CHECK: Research consistently shows no link between sanctuary policies and increased crime rates. Instead, migrants in sanctuary cities are less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens, with cities tending to experience decreases in property crime and homicide rates.

TRUMP: “Do you want to hear ‘The Snake?’…This was an old song that I revised… Think of it as the people that we’re letting in.

FACT CHECK: The daughters of Oscar Brown Jr., the original writer of the snake song, said Trump’s interpretation is dishonest and immigrants are not dangerous like the snake.

TRUMP: “We have no idea who they are. They want to come into our country. They may be ISIS. It may be the great Trojan Horse of all time. Who knows?”

FACT CHECK: Arab and Muslim refugees from the Middle East are unlikely to enter the U.S. due to rigorous vetting. In the rare cases they were accepted, they have been connected to planning or carrying out acts of terrorism in only a handful of instances since 1980.

TRUMP: “Illegal aliens coming into our country under Biden are treated better than our vets.”

FACT CHECK: While it’s true many undocumented people make use of public benefits, their monetary contribution to the country likely exceeds the cost of the benefits they consume, and they do not receive more benefits than citizens who are veterans.

TRUMP: “Democrats are the party of open borders, socialism, and crime, whether you like it or not.”

FACT CHECK: The claim that Democrats want open borders is false, since their recent policies focus on enforcing border laws and reducing illegal crossings.

TRUMP: “Dwight Eisenhower – nice guy – he moved a million and a half people out of the United States.”

FACT CHECK: Trump claims a 1950s-era deportation operation was “humane” and resulted in over a million deportations, but that number is contested, and the initiative took a steep humanitarian toll.

TRUMP: “They’ve taken the jobs of African Americans and Hispanics, and that was obvious to me. Next is gonna to be unions, you watch.”

FACT CHECK: Trump greatly overstates the tenuous connection between people who cross the border illegally to the “taking” of Black or union jobs.

TRUMP: “Believe me, it’s gonna work. Walls work.”

FACT CHECK: The reality of building a border wall is complex, and the barrier has proven to be ineffective, costly to taxpayers, and a driver for more dangerous modes of entry into the country. Historically, many undocumented immigrants overstay their legal visas, something a wall wouldn’t prevent.

TRUMP: “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats… They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

FACT CHECK: There is no evidence to support claims that Haitian migrants are abducting, killing or eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio.

State officials discuss election security concerns:

Animals, Daily Bread, Holiday

Daily Bread for 10.20.24: Bats 1 and 2

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 72. Sunrise is 7:15, and sunset is 6:03, for 10 hours, 49 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous, with 86.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1944, American general Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines when he comes ashore during the Battle of Leyte.

It’s soon to be Halloween, and while some bats are around all year, others appear only during the season.

Bat 1:

Bat 2:

Coast Guard rescues 17-year-old kayaker:

The Coast Guard rescued a 17-year-old kayaker who had become separated from his high school team, capsized, and had clung to his kayak for hours.

Agriculture, Daily Bread, Eric Hovde, Sen. Baldwin, US Senate Race 2024, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 10.19.24: California Carpetbagger with a Utah Bank Doesn’t Bother to Read Farm Bill on Which Wisconsin Agriculture Relies

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 72. Sunrise is 7:13, and sunset is 6:05, for 10 hours, 51 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous, with 93.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 202 BC, during the Second Punic War, Roman legions under Scipio Africanus defeat Hannibal Barca, leader of the army defending Carthage, at the Battle of Zama.

Eric Hovde, a fast-talking, strangely nasal carpetbagger from California wants to be a United States senator from Wisconsin but he’s been too busy to read up on the farm bill on which Wisconsin agriculture depends:

Post by @dscc
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He can’t opine? It’s a Wisconsin debate, with a predictable question, important to the state from which he is seeking federal office.

Bonus error: This California livin’ man, who wants to tout his local ties when he was in school here decades ago, isn’t aware that his Wisconsin-based and Wisconsin-focused opponent is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School:

Post by @american_bridge
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It’s been many years, and thousands of miles, so Hovde may not even recall the location of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Filled as this bleeding-heart libertarian blogger is with love for all my fellow creatures, I’ll offer Mr. Hovde a map with directions from his California home to the University of Wisconsin Law School:

It’s 29 hours by car, but, ya know, a man whose “ocean view mansion is located in one of Laguna Beach’s most affluent and luxurious gated communities with California’s only private beach, a private fire department, and private yacht parking dock” can probably spring for a plane ticket, or even his own plane, truly.

Previously at FREE WHITEWATER: Hovde & Baldwin, Hovde Spreads Lies About Hurricane Response (Of Course He Does), These Aren’t Subtle Men, Eric Hovde’s Banking Deal with a Cartel-Linked Mexican Bank, Hovde’s Evident, Ignorant Racism, Eric Hovde Treats Wisconsin as a Side Hustle,  It’s Not Going So Well for Hovde, Eric Hovde Should Fire His Political Consultants and Hire a Therapist, Tim Michels 2.0 Eric Hovde Announces U.S. Senate Run, and Another Vanity Candidate.  

You’ve Never Seen Graffiti Like This Before:

French artist Guillaume Legros AKA SAYPE living in Switzerland makes real-life graffiti. From Switzerland to France, Canada, Italy and even Burkina Faso, he is on a mission to document the stories of migrants through art leaving his mark one spray paint at a time, painting interlinked hands across different countries to bring humanity together.

Daily Bread, Economy, Employment, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 10.18.24: Wisconsin’s Strong Employment Numbers

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 68. Sunrise is 7:12, and sunset is 6:06, for 10 hours, 54 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous, with 98.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1867,  the United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day.

September was another good month for Wisconsin’s economy. Erik Gunn reports Wisconsin employment, jobs numbers stayed strong in September, state reports:

Unemployment in Wisconsin remained at a record-low rate in September while the number of jobs was still close to a record high, the state labor department reported Thursday.

The projected number of Wisconsinites employed in September topped 3,059,700 — a state record, according to the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD). The department reported that September was the fifth month in a row that the state employment number reached a new record high.

The unemployment rate for the month remained at 2.9%, according to DWD. Employment numbers are projections drawn from a federal survey of households.

We’ve reason to feel optimistic that this favorable, months-long trend will continue.

Rescued sea otters make their debut at the New York Aquarium:

Two rescued southern sea otters made their formal debut at the New York Aquarium on October 17. The two female otters were rescued off the coast of California at young ages and were deemed non-releasable as pups. They were cared for at other Association of Zoos and Aquariums before arriving in New York, where they will now reside.